Session 05
General Summary
With the tiefling subdued, Nex Pervenio quickly checked the rest of the area but all seemed quiet.
Mika carefully harvested some of the blood fungus, planning to dry and preserve it as best he
could, hoping it would last until he could meet with the archdruid.
Then the tiefling was brought round. She was surprised not to have been killed. Shinobi explained
that, although they had come here at the behest of the dwarfs, they were not strictly speaking
allied with the dwarfs. Baelina, for that was the tiefling�s name, explained that she hated the
dwarfs because some 15 years ago they had raided her home and stolen her only son, Bael, into
slavery. She had only recently learned of his fate, thinking him dead all these years. After coming
to Forgehome it now seemed Bael was on the surface somewhere. So she was attacking the dwarfs
while figuring out how she might continue to search for Bael. Shinobi explained that he knows a
tiefling slave called Bael and is pretty convinced it�s her son.
And so an impromptu alliance was formed. Baelina provided plenty of news and information
about Maelbrathyr. She also agreed to return there and make some enquiries regarding Lareth and
the Scorpions. In return, Shinobi vowed he would kill Dale Thunderkeg. They would then all
rendezvous in Maelbrathyr and provide more information on Bael�s whereabouts. With that, the
tiefling was set free.
Nex Pervenio returned to Forgehome. They reported their success to Dale Thunderkeg who
summoned the Chief Guard to hear the details. Food and drink were provided while they awaited
his arrival. He listened to the description of the mine, with the devastation blamed entirely on
myconids and rust monsters with no mention of the tiefling. He gave provisional permission for
the gladiators to enter the city and would send a squad down to reinforce the mine and try and
prevent the return of any myconids � depending on their report he would then grant full freedom
of the city.
The very basic inn was left behind for the bustle and crowds of inner Forgehome. The buildings
were all very close together with labyrinthine alleyways between, it felt very claustrophobic to the
surface dwellers. A little more space was found in an open plaza, dominated by the large building
of Bugman�s Brewery, which was also an inn. It was very busy inside but Bugman made room
for his friends.
He explained that he would soon be travelling on business to Maelbrathyr with several other dwarf
traders and their guards (and Rutu). It made sense to travel with a couple of dozen experienced
Underdark folk so Nex Pervenio agreed to wait in Forgehome until the convoy was ready to
depart. In the meantime they got to do some shopping, restock supplies and repair their equipment.
Shinobi didn�t forget the deal with Baelina. It was also the night of the new moon on the surface,
29th March. Time to kill two birds with one stone. In the middle of the night he sneaked out of
Forgehome using all of his powers and training. He entered the inn and sought out the sleeping
Dale Thunderkeg. He administered a dose of Carrion Crawler Brain Juice to the sleeping dwarf,
rendering him paralyzed and totally at his mercy. He gagged the dwarf, ensuring he could not call
for help. Then he proceeded to tell the dwarf all about Bael the Tiefling who he had wronged and
how it was time for him to pay the price. Zehir's servant was here to extract vengence. Shinobi
then sacrificed the still conscious Dale to his evil god. He left a small note by the side of the bed
which read simply, "For Bael".
The next morning, Shinobi found a quiet spot and confided in his gladiator comrades, telling them
all about his Ghostwalker training and the Scorpion clan. He also informed then he�d killed Dale
Thunderkeg, though omitted the Zehir elements.
Around lunchtime, Nex Pervenio were summoned to the Chief Guard. He gave them all medals
proving their Freedom of Forgehome. He warned these could be revoked for bad behaviour, the
dwarfs were proud of their safe sanctum surrounded by the perils of the Underdark and they
wished to preserve it. He mentioned that the myconids in the mine seemed pretty unusual,
removing dwarf hands for some evil ritual. He also mentioned he had to go and see what had
happened to Dale Thunderkeg as he had met an untimely and grisly demise.
The next few days were a special commemorative festival. This was in honour of the 1000 year
anniversary of the Seven Great Clans departing the shallow Underdark on a mass migration deep,
deep into the Underdark to found a new dwarven empire, centered on the new city of Gar Morra.
This is located in a truly gigantic stalactite in the centre of the Spire Sea, a vast underground sea
similar in scale to surface oceans. Alas the tale of Gar Morra was not a happy one. A huge aboleth
army arose from the Spire Sea and was poised to annihilate the dwarfs when they made a
desperate bargain, turning from Moradin to the service of Asmodeus. This turned the tide and they
defeated the aboleths but at a heavy price. The city and those dwarfs are now said to be cursed and
they are now allied with duergar of all people. This all sounded more like legend than fact.
Having heard more than enough melancholy dirges and endless dwarven sagas, it was a relief
when it was time to leave Forgehome on 3rd April. The journey to Maelbrathyr took just over a
week, arriving on 11th April. As hoped for, in such a large group the journey was pretty safe and
uneventful.
Arrival in Maelbrathyr was dramatic. The tunnel emerged on a clifftop ledge overlooking a vast
cavern which plunged down into a bottomless crevasse. The city was perched on the side of the
crevasse, shattered into four tiers. Apparently it was once on the surface in the distant past but
some long-forgotten catastrophe saw it swallowed by the earth. The top tier was mainly inns and
where mercenaries might be found. The next tier was dedicated to slave markets. The third tier
was where more esoteric traders sold magical items, rituals and such. The lowermost tier was the
least stable and parts of it periodically collapsed into the crevasse. Soon the city might comprise
only three tiers�
Entry into the actual city was no less dramatic. A strange bridge spanned the chasm. This was
initially identified as the hollowed out corpse of a mighty purple worm, its body forming a
tunnelway. On closer inspection, Valun declared this was actually an undead purple worm,
animated and compelled to remain in place. It didn�t bear thinking about what might happen
should it break free.
Nex Pervenio and the dwarfs headed for the main square where various inns could be found. The
dwarfs would be staying at the Inn of the Dead Minotaur while the gladiators preferred the
Scalded Dragon.
On their way across the busy marketplace, there were sudden shouts of anger, cries of pain, cruel
laughter and the odour of scorched flesh. Charging wildly through the crowd were four drow on
strange horses with fiery hooves, carelessly wounding all in their path. Nex Pervenio sensibly
opted to stay well clear, though they would have liked to teach them a lesson, they remembered
they were in Maelbrathyr on more important business. They learned from an onlooker that these
were successful drow gladiators of House Zhiq�nah, riding nightmares.
Nightmares can be obtained in the Ghetto of Foreigners in Erelhei-Cinlu in something of a
spectator sport. You pay a fee to the trader and you must then earn the respect of your wouldbe
mount by defeating it in single combat before it will recognise you as its master. There are no
refunds if you die!
The barman of the Scalded Dragon confused Valun. He mistook him as a member of a group of
Asmodean pilgrims who were also staying in the inn, though the barman had not seen them for a
couple of days and wondered after their safety. They were here to visit the tomb of a dwarven
paladin, located on the dangerous lowest tier.
They then met up with Baelina as arranged. She had heard about Dale Thunderkeg and was very
pleased. She�d made some enquiries as requested. The Scorpions were in Maelbrathyr and had
been seen out and about in the slave market area, but they had not been seen in the past couple of
weeks after most recently visiting a clan of ogre slavers. There was no sign of Lareth himself but
apparently the cult of Elemental Evil were active in the city, operating out of Lareth�s old family
holdings, identifiable by a clock tower, located on the lowest tier and seemingly the epicentre of
much recent instability and tremors.
Riya visited a Cyclops to collect some rare alchemical reagents for the Temple of Erathis. His
shop was crammed from floor to ceiling with glass bottles of all shapes and sizes containing all
manner of substances. The previous shipment had been wrong, the unfortunate Rutu was not
familiar with such substances and not spotted the error. Riya was much more careful and ensured
all was in order. She packed it away, hoping to get it safely back to the surface.
What next? At Shinobi�s insistence, they went off in search for ogre slavers. They were in a quiet
warehouse in a back street near the slave markets. The warehouse was well secured with only one
door, no windows or skylights, presumably to prevent slaves escaping. Shinobi easily picked the
lock and opened the door a tiny crack to peek through. Sure enough there were ogres in there. Nex
Pervenio readied their weapons and then burst in, taking the ogres by surprise. They leapt to their
feet and were joined by more ogres from side rooms, not factored into the original battle plan. The
ogres fought mightily, wildly swinging huge clubs. But they were no match for trained gladiators
acting in unison and they were swiftly defeated. They were carefully knocked out rather than
killed, Nex Pervenio were cautious of making enemies, who knows who the ogres might work for.
There was a trap door, which opened onto a shaft down into a basement area containing stacks of
crates. There was torch light and the murmur of voices. Shinobi and Dash sneaked down and
peeked through the crates. Their attention was immediately drawn to the far corner where a
strange glass prison was filled with swirling, noxious mist � helpless within it were the five
members of the Scorpions gladiator team! Looking on pitilessly were people from Honshu, surely
traitors to the Scorpion clan. They seemed to be negotiating with someone unseen from their
restricted viewpoint.
It was time for Nex Pervenio to save the day!
Report Date
11 Apr 2024
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